[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 191 (Monday, October 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53666-53667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25678]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 092899C]


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and its Dolphin/
Wahoo Committee, Executive Committee, New England Jurisdictional 
Committee, Habitat Committee, Comprehensive Management Committee, Law 
Enforcement Committee, and Squid-Mackerel-Butterfish Committee will 
hold public meetings.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 12, 1999, to 
Thursday, October 14, 1999. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific 
dates and times.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Ramada Inn, 1701 South 
Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil Hills, NC; telephone: 800-635-
1824.
    Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 S. 
New Street, Dover, DE 19904, telephone 302-674-2331.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, 
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; telephone: 302-674-2331, ext. 
19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Tuesday, October 12, 1999, from 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.--
the Dolphin/Wahoo Committee will meet.
    Tuesday, October 12, 1999, from 10:00 a.m.-12 noon--the Executive 
Committee will meet.
    Tuesday, October, 12, 1999, from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.--the New 
England Jurisdictional Committee will meet.
    Tuesday, October 12, 1999, from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.--the Habitat 
Committee will meet.
    Wednesday, October 13, 1999, from 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.--the 
Comprehensive Management Committee will meet.
    Wednesday, October 13, 1999, from 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.--the Law 
Enforcement Committee will also meet.
    Wednesday, October 13, 1999, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.--Full Council 
convenes as a Council Committee of the Whole for demersal species with 
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Summer 
Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board.
    Wednesday, October 13, 1999, 3:00 p.m. there will be a presentation 
by Admiral John E. Shkor of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) 
5th District followed by Council participation in a USCG 
vessel boarding from 4:00 until 5:30 p.m.
    Thursday, October 14, 1999, 8:00 a.m.-10:00 
a.m.--the Squid-Mackerel-Butterfish Committee will meet.
    Thursday, October 14, 1999, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.--Council will meet 
to receive various reports and recommendations, and to address, among 
other things, submission of the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 
for Secretarial review.
    Agenda items for this meeting include: Review of the South Atlantic 
Council's actions regarding the Dolphin/Wahoo FMP; FY1999 budget status 
review, FY2000 grant application, Standard Operating Policies and 
Procedures update; recommendation on New England Council's advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking control date for multispecies and sea 
scallops, develop recommendation regarding proposed rule to implement 
Amendment 12 of the NEC's Multispecies Fisheries Management Plan; 
Hudson River Park Project review, general concurrence on NMFS permits, 
NMFS Habitat Workshop recap, tilefish essential fish habitat, industry 
advisors; exempted experimental fishing permit review, field program 
design approval; Council enforcement recognition program, compliance 
issues; summer flounder constant harvest, summer flounder conservation 
equivalency, scup allocations (annual and state-by-state); mackerel 
limited entry, seasons and real time management for Illex, spawning 
closures and control rule for Loligo, quota set asides; receipt of 
committee reports and other fishery management issues; receive Tilefish 
Committee report and consider adoption of Tilefish FMP for Secretarial 
submission.
    The Regional Administrator (RA) is considering authorizing exempted 
experimental fishing activities to reduce scup bycatch in small mesh 
fisheries in areas of the Mid-Atlantic. Investigations should focus on 
possible fishing method(s), gear type(s), gear configuration(s), and 
fishing effort by area and season. Exempted

[[Page 53667]]

experimental fishing activities may be granted relief from one or more 
of the following restrictions of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Plans, including but not limited to, the Management Plans for Scup, 
Loligo Squid, Butterfish, and Atlantic Mackerel:
    Possession and landing limits associated with incidental catch 
permits
    Area closures (species specific, seasonal, or otherwise)
    Minimum mesh sizes
    Commercial trip limits
    Commercial minimum fish sizes
    Commercial landing limits
    Commercial gear restrictions
    Commercial harvest limits
    Catch limits that trigger mesh size modification
    To be considered for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) under this 
notice, a complete and satisfactory exempted experimental fishing 
application as specified in CFR sections 600.745(b)(3)(i)(A) and (C); 
(b)(3)(ii)(B), (D), and (F); and (b)(3)(v)(B) and (E), must be 
submitted to the RA by December 31, 2000. If the RA determines that 
exempted experimental fishing activities under consideration would be 
of limited scope, magnitude and duration, with only short term effects 
on the environment, the requirements to submit an Environmental 
Assessment may be waived. At the RA's discretion, EFPs may be granted 
for the specific experimental activities and time periods documented in 
each individual exempted experimental fishing proposal that is 
approved. All catches during exempted fishing will be applied to 
appropriate total allowable levels of fishing or quotas. Upon NMFS 
approval of the application, plan specific EFPs would be issued to 
qualified vessels. Interested parties and the public will have an 
opportunity to comment or provide input regarding this announcement 
during the RA's report to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
during its meeting session on October 14, 1999.
    Although non-emergency other issues not contained in this agenda 
may come before this Council for discussion, in accordance with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, such issues 
may not be the subject of formal Council action during this meeting. 
Council action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed 
in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice 
that require emergency action under secion 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take final action to address the emergency.

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Joanna Davis at the Council (see ADDRESSES) at 
least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: September 28, 1999.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-25678 Filed 9-29-99; 3:59 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F